Animal Welfare in Australia

RSPCA NSW

a) Steve Coleman, RSPCA NSW CEO, SMH, RSPCA criticised.…9/10/12: “…….. rejected claims the RSPCA was unwilling to collaborate with other animal welfare organisations, adding that “discussions have been undertaken, and continue to be undertaken, with a number of community-based rescue groups”.

b) Letter sent to a NSW Member of Parliament

“I belong to a group of volunteers who rescue Alaskan Malamutes in NSW, Victoria and South Australia. We also assist in rehoming Australia wide. We are a deductible gift recipient with charity status, have public liability insurance, and all have our own malamutes www.amraa.org.au or facebook – Alaskan malamute Rehoming Aid. We have rescued over 100 Alaskan Malamutes in the last 2 ½ years in NSW alone of which 99% have been successfully rehomed.

Only one dog has been euthenased due to temperament issues and only one has not been rescued from the pound, due to issues with temperament. Otherwise we have taken all the dogs that we have been aware of in pounds – so we do not pick and choose. We enjoy a good relationship with the Animal Welfare League and many of the pounds around NSW. Our relationship with the RSPCA has been variable.

I am aware of their constraints as a large organisation, however, as a group that has animal advocacy as part of their mission statement, it is distressing that the Rutherford shelter in Newcastle has lacked any desire to allow breed specific rescue to rescue dogs. We are not the only group to find this. (DRP in bold highlight) READ MORE HERE

On the SBS Insights program last night 25 Set 2012, RSPCA CEO Steve Coleman said that RSPCA NSW works with Rescue Groups. He also explained a situation where RSPCA reached out to Rescue Groups but that none responded…

We have some logical questions: please reply in the comments below:

If you are with a rescue Group that actively and currently works with RSPCA NSW – please tell us

If you were one of the Rescue Groups that was contacted by RSPCA with an invitation to work with them, please let us know

If you are with a Rescue Groups that did not respond to the RSPCA NSW invitation please let us know why

RSPCA NSW have made it clear that they want to work with Rescue Groups.

Action that Rescue Groups can take

Please write to Steve Coleman at scoleman@rspcansw.org.au, with your rescue group request and offer to work with them. This is a great opportunity!

I suggest that you keep copies of subsequent correspondence for reference.

The following text is taken from the Deathrowpets submission to the NSW CA Taskforce public discussion document, June 2012. It sets out our perspectives on the stacking of the Taskforce membership with members predominantly having strong commercial vested interests in the pet industry. The document contains many links to various documents created by these organisations that should be on the public record. This submission will be made available to the public by the NSW Taskforce.

As part of our submission, we wish to comment on membership of the Taskforce. Membership of the Taskforce has a significant context to the findings and recommendations set out in the discussion paper.

(Underlined references below are hyperlinks to documents)

Australian Companion Animal Council (ACAC),

An industry body with strong commercial vested interests in maintaining high numbers of animals in the market; specifically established to counter the growing voice of public opinion and advocacy which seeks to stop the killing of animals in pounds and shelters; specifically established to protect the commercial interests of pet industry members; no experience whatsoever in developing strategies to increase Rehoming rates and reduce killing rates in pounds and shelters. READ MORE HERE

There has been a flurry of newspaper articles over the past few weeks……

Pet industry, animal groups bares teeth over inquiry SMH Jan 16 09

“A bitter war of words has erupted between animal welfare groups and the pet industry over calls for a public inquiry into the number of healthy dogs and cats that are killed annually.

Large numbers of animals are euthanased each year in pounds run by the RSPCA, local councils and other groups yet the exact figures – and the reasons they end up being killed – are hotly disputed. To read article, click here……“

“TANGO was too aggressive, Alice too old, Coco too sick and Bosco too psycho. All – and hundreds more – are now dead.

Mysterious deaths at one of the city’s biggest pounds have sparked a major campaign by animal welfare and rescue groups to end the bloodletting at The Sydney Dogs and Cats Home.”To read article, click here…..

Grim end for Christmas puppies SMH, Dec 23 09

“It would be a hard heart that could resist the sight of puppies tumbling over one another in a pet shop window.

Many people do succumb to their charms, especially at this time of year, paying up to $1500 to take home an instant new family member.

But behind this heart-warming scene a venomous debate is raging about the way puppies are bred and sold. Opponents claim it is a profit-driven, inhumane business that indirectly causes the destruction of more than 60,000 unwanted dogs a year.” To read article, click here….

Dead dogs walking get reprieve SMH, Dec 23 09

“WITHIN about 100 metres of Monika Biernacki’s property at Ingleside you may as well turn off the GPS, open the car window and follow your ears.

This is a semi-rural part of Sydney with houses spaced wide apart on big blocks – which is a good thing, because the 100 or so dogs whose barking will guide you the last part of the journey to Monika’s Doggie Rescue make one hell of a racket.” To read article, click here…

RSPCA says adoption is best SMH Dec 23 09

“Nationwide last year, the RSPCA received 70,514 dogs at its pounds. Of those, 19,276 were rehomed but nearly 24,000 were put down.

And both those figures are growing. In fact, the number of dogs received in shelters and pounds has gone up by more than 20 per cent in five years.” To read article, click here….

Council pounces, stripping Lort Smith of its pound status The Age, Dec 08

“VICTORIA’S largest animal hospital has been banned from finding new homes for cats and dogs lost in the City of Melbourne, as local pounds brace for a sharp increase in the number of pets dumped over Christmas.

After helping to rehouse abandoned pets for the past 75 years, Lort Smith Animal Hospital has suddenly been ordered by Melbourne City Council to transfer all seized animals to a North Melbourne pound.”To read article, click here…..

Backyard puppy factories just waiting for the next bitch on heat The Age, Nov 23 08

“SHE is a dog with no name who lives in a bric-a-brac jumble by her master’s back door. Her owner appears surprised when asked her name and seems to pluck “Suzy” from the air. A small, grey-and-white crossbreed with matted hair, she doesn’t respond to Suzy. She snarls and squabbles with her litter of hungry pups over a bowl of dog pellets.

“ANIMAL rights activists are calling for the Federal Government to close a loophole that allows thousands of Australian puppies to be sold to Asian pet farms to be used as breeders.”To read article, click here….

DRP: What are your thoughts on these articles?

Please let us know if you see any news articles – forward us the links so we can keep people informed.

This week the team at ‘fix nsw animal policy’
(www.fixnswanimalpolicy.com) received a formal notification from three welfare groups requesting that they remove their name and link from the ‘fix nsw animal policy’ website.

The page these organisations were cited on was the rescue page directing people to rescue groups for animals.

Article from: Daily Telegraph By Lauren WilliamsDODGY pet shop owners will face tough new penalties for maltreatment of animals under new state government regulations to be introduced next week.Minors will also be banned from buying pets under the overhaul, and a mandatory three-day cooling-off period will be introduced to stop impulse buys. The move follows attempts by Clover Moore to introduce a drastic law banning pet shops altogether, claiming irresponsible breeding practices and impulse buys were out of control.Pet shop owner Bob Croucher said the changes were a good “half-way point” and would give the RSPCA teeth to deal with pet stores doing the wrong thing.“Things like small pens with too many animals and especially impulse buys are a problem for a minority of pet shops,” he saidThe new laws give RSPCA patrol officers power to investigate stores and issue minimum $200 on-the-spot-fines. They will also specify pen and cage sizes for different animals and force shopowners to supply written information on how to care for purchased pets.RSPCA NSW CEO Steven Coleman said his staff receive 200-300 complaints annually about pet shop conditions.“This will make it clear and fair as to what is required of pet shops and what is required of us to monitor them,” he said. He said the penalty system acted as a good incentive for owners to act ethically in the first instance and would tackle the problem of impulse buys.“Buying the animal is the cheapest part of owning an animal,” he said.NSW Minister for Primary Industries Ian Macdonald said, while the majority of pet shops operate in a highly professional way and already met the new standards, “these changes are aimed at bringing all pet shop retailers up to the same level”.

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.....provides information and developments related to progress in creating change in companion animal welfare in Australia. We are not about reinventing the wheel, and so where others have already communicated a story, we will link to their site, and say 'thank you' in advance!
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